Open-source Cluely alternatives: what they are and whether hiring teams can spot them
Several free Cluely-style tools exist, some open source, some source-available. Most hide from screen sharing. Hiding from the call is not hiding from the computer: in our own testing, each of 4 free AI answer tools (Interview Coder, OpenCluely, Pluely and Cheating Daddy) was found in 30 of 30 tries.
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Key takeaways
- Free, but not all open source. Some are open source; Natively is source-available by its own licence, and Pluely now has paid plans.
- Same trick as the paid tools. They ask the operating system to leave their window out of screen capture.
- Their makers say it is best-effort. Cue's README says a phone camera can see it, and newer Macs may capture it anyway.
- Write rules about behavior, not names. Projects disappear from GitHub; the hidden window stays the same.
Cluely turned hidden AI interview help into a funded product, and free alternatives followed on GitHub. Hiring teams now hear names like Cheating Daddy, OpenCluely and Pluely, and ask whether free tools are harder to spot than paid ones. Here is what these projects are, what their own pages say about hiding, and where a check can see them.
The main free tools, in one table
Details come from each project's own GitHub page or website, read on November 6, 2026. Star counts and prices change often.
| Tool | Licence and size | What it says about hiding | Platforms and latest release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheating Daddy | Open source (GPL-3.0), about 5,600 stars | Calls itself "a free and opensource app that lets you gain an unfair advantage". Its code turns window hiding on with no condition. | Windows and Mac; v0.8.0, July 23, 2026 |
| OpenCluely | Open source (Apache-2.0), about 1,150 stars | "When a share starts, the app can hide every window on its own." | Windows and Linux; July 28, 2026 |
| Pluely | Free plan and paid plans; no longer public on GitHub | Its website offers "Invisible on screen shares" and "No bot joins your calls". | Mac, Windows and Linux |
| Natively | Source-available (Personal Use Source License), about 3,200 stars | "Hidden from screen shares, the Dock and the taskbar, disguised in the process list" | Mac and Windows; v3.1.0, November 4, 2026 |
| Cue | Open source (GPL-3.0), about 1,500 stars | "stays hidden from screen shares", which it calls "best-effort, not guaranteed" | Mac first, Windows listed; created July 2026 |
One more name comes up in searches. Glass by Pickle, an open-source project with about 4,000 stars in mid-2025, is no longer public on GitHub.
"Open source" is used loosely in this space. Natively calls itself an "AI meeting assistant, interview copilot, and note taker", yet its licence says "Natively is source-available, not open source." Pluely's repository and account are no longer public on GitHub as of November 6, 2026, and its website now offers a free plan ("$0 forever") with paid plans at $15 and $35 a month.
How they hide from screen sharing
They use the same operating system switch the paid tools use. An app asks to be left out of screen capture, and the system usually obliges. Microsoft describes the result on Windows: the window "is displayed only on a monitor. Everywhere else, the window does not appear at all."
Cheating Daddy shows how simple this is. When its main window opens, its code calls setContentProtection(true) with no condition. It also hides from the Windows taskbar and from Mission Control on Mac. Its built-in profiles cover interview, sales, meeting, presentation, negotiation and exam, and the interview prompt calls the app a "discreet on-screen teleprompter".
Others go further. Natively says it is "disguised in the process list", and OpenCluely says it can hide every window when a share starts. The aim is the same each time: the interviewer's view of the shared screen looks clean.
What their own makers admit
The makers are more candid than the marketing. Cue's README says its hiding is "best-effort, not guaranteed: on macOS 15.4+ Apple can let modern capture tools see it anyway", and that "a phone camera always can". Natively calls its stealth "best-effort like any stealth".
The platform documents agree. Electron's documentation says "newer Mac applications that use ScreenCaptureKit will capture your window despite win.setContentProtection(true)." Microsoft's says there is "no guarantee" the switch protects content, "for example where someone takes a photograph of the screen." Cue even warns that using it in a "proctored exam, job interview, or recorded meeting may break that platform's rules".
Free does not mean harder to find
A free tool is not a stealthier tool. These projects hide the same way the paid ones do. A check that looks on the computer, rather than at the shared screen, does not care what a tool costs or what it is called.
What free tools do change is the list of names. Projects come and go: two of the names above are no longer public on GitHub. A rule built on a list of names goes stale. A rule built on the behavior, a hidden window giving answers in a round where AI is not allowed, does not. Our guide to interview cheating tools covers the wider field, paid and free.
Our test results on 4 free AI answer tools
Our own testing: 4 free AI answer tools (Interview Coder, OpenCluely, Pluely and Cheating Daddy), each opened 30 times, plus 30 runs with no AI tool and 30 with everyday apps open.
| Condition | Result |
|---|---|
| Hidden AI tool found | 30 of 30 tries, for each of 4 tools |
| How sure we can be | At least 90.5% for each tool (95% confidence) |
| False alarms with no AI tool open | 0 of 30 tries |
| False alarms with everyday apps open | 0 of 30 tries |
Tested October 4, 2026. Every condition is on the Research page.
What hiring teams can do
- Write the rule around behavior, not names. For example: no AI help in this round unless we say so.
- Ask for the candidate's own reasoning. Follow up on specifics an answer window has not seen yet.
- Check the computer during the call. That is where these windows run. Verified Call looks for hidden AI tools: AI answer helpers like Cluely and Interview Coder that hide from screen sharing. It names hidden helpers in the panel. Verified Call never joins the call.
- Treat a flag as a question. Results are advice for the host, not a verdict on a person.
For a full playbook, see how to detect and stop cheating in video interviews.
Questions hiring teams ask
Is there an open-source version of Cluely?
Several. Cheating Daddy (GPL-3.0), OpenCluely (Apache-2.0) and Cue (GPL-3.0) are open source. Natively is source-available, not open source, by its own licence. Pluely is now free to download with paid plans, and is no longer public on GitHub.
Are free interview helpers hidden from screen sharing?
Most say so. They use the same operating system switch as paid tools, which keeps a window out of screen share. Their makers call it best-effort: Cue's README says "a phone camera always can" see it.
Can recruiters detect Cheating Daddy or OpenCluely?
Not by watching the shared screen. In our own testing, each of 4 free AI answer tools, OpenCluely and Cheating Daddy among them, was found in 30 of 30 tries, with 0 of 30 false alarms (October 4, 2026). The conditions are on the Research page.
Does HackerRank detect Cheating Daddy?
HackerRank does not name it. Its Desktop App Mode, part of the AI Add-on, blocks other applications during a test, "including tools such as Cluely". See what HackerRank checks.
Why do some of these GitHub projects disappear?
The projects do not say. As of November 6, 2026, Pluely's repository and Glass by Pickle are no longer public on GitHub. Names change, so write your interview rules around the behavior, not a list of tools.
Sources
- Microsoft LearnSetWindowDisplayAffinity functionUpdated July 1, 2025
- ElectronBrowserWindow: setContentProtectionRead November 6, 2026
- HackerRank Knowledge BaseDesktop App ModeRead November 6, 2026
- Verified Call researchHidden AI tools: each of 4 tools, 30 tries, false alarmsTested October 4, 2026
- Cheating DaddyGitHub README, LICENSE (GPL-3.0), source and releases (not linked)Read November 6, 2026
- OpenCluelyGitHub README, LICENSE (Apache-2.0) and releases (not linked)Read November 6, 2026
- PluelyWebsite and pricing; GitHub repository not public (not linked)Read November 6, 2026
- NativelyGitHub README and LICENSE (Personal Use Source License v1.0) (not linked)Read November 6, 2026
- CueGitHub README and LICENSE (GPL-3.0) (not linked)Read November 6, 2026
See the checks on a real call
Book a short demo and we will show the checks on a live call, with the proof the host sees.
Related reading
AI helpersInterview cheating tools: what hiring teams should knowThe AI tools candidates use, named: what each one claims, what a host can see, and what hiring teams can do about it.
Hidden AI toolsCluely vs Interview Coder: how hiring teams catch themWhat each tool claims, Cluely's funding round by round, what is public about detection, and four ways hiring teams catch them.
Hidden AI toolsHow to detect and stop cheating in video interviewsHow to tell if a candidate is using AI or a stand-in, what you can check by hand, and how to know before you hire.